<< Objectives >>The project 'Rural Youth Cinema' is developing a qualitative methodology that guides young people in making an ethnographic documentaries, from youth activities that starts from ecological and sustainable themes that are urgent in the rural context where the youth work organisations are situated. We share this process using a sustainable digital platform. In this way, through the methodology, we investigate sustainability in art youth work, situated in rural areas.<< Implementation >>In each country, we will implement project activities in the partner's operation. This will be done step-by-step and in parallel. (1) exploring techniques, (2) raw documentaries of the activities, (3) final documentaries (4) viewing documentaries by partners. All project partners come together after each step. This allows for exchange and development as a group. All partners are committed to implementing the project insights and outcomes in the future work of the organisation.<< Results >>-documentaries (with subtitles)-ethnographic documentary tool for youth work-digital platform-blog with process documentation -physical film moments in each project country-Curriculum component for students youth art work (bachelor UCLL)

"Among the European countries there are different educational systems which Down Syndrom (DS) individuals are subjected, although the overall trend is to train them for their inclusion in the labour market and society. On the other hand, it is important to address environmental sustainability from the early childhood, by promoting a participative methodology, focused on engaging children to learn about recycling, and through collaborative projects. Also, Educational Technology brings new opportunities for designing attractive approaches and tools to improve the engagement of DS individuals, enhancing their outcomes academic subjects, but also their self-care capacities. Currently, few programmes based on eLearning for scientific competences have been developed for DS individuals. While these approaches are being considered by policy makers, there is yet a lack of research in this field and its adaptation to primary and secondary education for people with disabilities. However, this is crucial to enhance future careers and changing the societal misconceptions against the skills and competences of people with DS and other disabilities, providing them with knowledge on scientific and technical fields. SUSKIDS has developed a new tool by means of digital resources for enhancing current didactics for DS individuals and has proposed a framework of qualifications acknowledged at the European level for them. SUSKIDS is aimed and fully in-line with the formal education curricula. SUSKIDS Partnership has brought together a multidisciplinary team with a wide geographical coverage: Spain, Ireland and Belgium, reflecting a wide variety of cultural backgrounds and formal education systems. It has been comprised by: • University of Burgos (UBU) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD), both experts in Civil Engineering. • UC Leuven-Limburg (UCLL), experts in research concerning vulnerable youngsters and adults with a focus on social issues concerning the place of the Internet in care and welfare, specifically on the theme of e-inclusion and inclusive education. • Bjäland Technologies (BJL), a highly-innovative SME working on training platforms and tools to increase the self-management of elderly and disabled people. • National Council of Curriculum of Assessment from Ireland (NCCA), experts in assessing teachers and public bodies about curricula and methodologies. • Asociación Síndrome de Down Burgos (ASDB), a non-profit, independent and supportive association that brings together families that have among their members people who have intellectual disabilities.• Senior Europa (Kveloce) (KVC), experts on Social Impact Assessment, gender and Dissemination strategy. The following Intellectual Outputs have been produced, sustained by an intensive dissemination activity and designed through a systematic and participatory research. O1. Toolkit for recycling skills knowledge transfer to SD individuals; O2. Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) of sustainable construction for SD individuals; O3. Development of a course validated and recognised by the Irish National Frameworks of Qualifications; O4. Evaluation guidelines validated and recognised by the European Framework of Qualifications. Three events have been organised: A Workshop (ME1) “Enabling professionals and families to transfer sustainable knowledge and skills to Down syndrome individuals”, a Conference (ME2) “Use of technology to transfer sustainable skills to DS individuals for the improvement of inclusion”. Aditionally, one extra event has been carried out: SUSKIDS WEBINAR: ""Uso de la tecnología para transferir habilidades sostenibles a personas con Síndrome de Down y mejorar su inclusión"" whose objetive was to diseminate the project results in the collective of DS: associations and special education schools and to offer the VLE for use in their centers.SUSKIDS has substantially impacted on the formal education system and the society as a whole:• Children with DS (10-16 years old): Significant improvement in students’ competences, engagement and autonomy, raising inclusion at long-term • Teachers: Tools and resources introducing recycling and construction appealing for pupils with DS. Improved long-life education. • Policymakers: New approaches in education self-management for people with disabilities. Adaptation of the current curricula to the new technologies and its benefits. At long-term, students better prepared for the labour market. • SMEs and industry: New market opportunities related to self-management of chronic patients and people with disabilities integrated into their curriculum. • Academic community: New research lines and wider samples. Better visibility of research into self-management, disabilities, recycling and construction sciences. • Associations and families: Increased of social awareness on education for people with self- management, disabilities. More interactive resources and appealing learning tools."

VRAILEXIA “Partnering Outside the Box: Digital and Artificial Intelligence Integrated Tools to Support Higher Education Students with Dyslexia”Students with dyslexia encounter several difficulties during their university career, leading to a greater rate of drops out with respect other kinds of students. Nowadays, tools for dyslexic students are mainly focused on primary and secondary school; conversely no standard methodologies are proposed for Higher Education. Starting from the attitude to visual thinking and creativity of dyslexics and their evidence neurodiversity. VRAILEXIA will develop learning tools and services for University dyslexic students to assure equal access and opportunity of success during their academic career and their lifelong learning experience.VRAILEXIA by using virtual reality and artificial intelligence will implement an e-learning adaptive digital tool (BESPECIAL) for supporting students with dyslexia. As a long-term objective VRAILEXIA will propose a sustainable teaching and training pattern for HEIs to allow them to boost their own strengths counteracting their seeming weakness.Moreover, VRAILEXIA wishes to emerge the mastery of thinking out of the box exploiting the ability to explore creative and unusual ideas that are not limited or controlled by rules or tradition.VRAILEXIA outcome is a network of HEIs piloting Hub engaged on a MoU for developing inclusion strategies for dyslexic students and enhance their opportunity of success during the academic career and integration into the labour market.VRAILEXIA’s general objective aims at changing the perception and implementing a tool to overlap dyslexic’s main difficulties with a positive impact on empowering their motivation and self- esteem. Consequently it will breed a common procedure within European Universities to assure services and learning environment based on student-centred vision and Universal Design Learning. The perspective is to enable Universities to develop strategies for inclusion of untapped students’ talents and strengths.Specific applied objectives:1.Design, develop and validate of “BESPECIAL” a digital tool for supporting students affected by learning disabilities, dyslexia in particular, through an e-learning platform based on artificial intelligence (AI) to automatically customize itself and adapt its contents to the dyslexic students’ needs. 2.Develop Virtual Reality test for the assessment of dyslexia profiles and for monitoring the level of motivation, anxiety, development of soft skills after the use of BESPECIAL. 3.Implement 2 training pilot paths for HEIs in order to implement respectively: a) training course for HE teachers to respond to the lack of competences and awareness in student- centred teaching methodology such as UDL b) a Pilot Crash Course on Creativity and Entrepreneurship for university students in order to boost up their visual thinking and mind-set skills.4.Assure the transferability of competences acquired during the training course in order to spread the student-centred approach within the HEIs;5.Build an OER Repository with a categorization of teaching and learning materials based on Universal Design principles available on line and specific contents developed within the project;6.Set up a MoU for clustering the actors/stakeholders to generate a European Network fostering a common strategy of inclusion within Higher Education targeted for students, teachers, administrative staff and as well Associated partners.VRAILEXIA leads to the following tangible results:--sustainable tools to support Higher Education providers in implementing inclusive learning approaches for dyslexic students;-an adaptive learning environment based on Informed Artificial Intelligence for supporting students with dyslexia;-a set of VR tests and a ‘strategy based on student- centred methods’ in order to motivate them in their lifelong learning process;-a common pattern shared within the network of Piloting Hubs fostering Universities capabilities to become innovative centres in supporting all students in their academic and job career.

<< Background >>It was on Sep 13th of 2016 when the EU Parliament voted in Strasbourg the Resolution 2016/2017 on creating labour market conditions favourable for work-life balance, fostering quality employment and supporting smart working as an approach to organizing work. Since then, the incidence of flexible workers, ‘teleworking tsunami’ has been growing, varying substantially in the EU28 (June 2020): Belgium (66%), Slovenia (33%), France (55%), Poland (38%) and Sweden (46%) [Eurofound ILO]. A number of laws have been issued on national levels, but there is no doubt that digital distance working has never been such a hot topic worldwide as nowadays, since the pandemic of coronavirus has led to its largest mass exercise, with significant impacts on the employability and work-life-stress balance agenda. The group of workers particularly touched by this unexpected change are senior adults (aged 50+), a treasured source of talent for organizations and companies across the globe. During decades of their professional occupation, they groomed important professional experience, skills, and values (loyalty, reliability, commitment, high standards of relations and a strong work ethic) contributing to the success and development of their companies. Since COVID-19 has accelerated the digital shift, some aged workers with not sufficient digital skills experience longer working hours and negative effects on their health and well-being. Some of them not having access before to appropriate training opportunities to improve their digital capacity and understanding were left behind on the wrong side of the digital divide. Therefore, the pandemic-related and simultaneously ongoing global digital transition is for them a stressful change perceived often as a risk to their professional development and employability.Afraid of losing their jobs 10-15 years before retirement, they are afraid to request necessary training from employers what makes them vulnerable as they are not only falling out of touch with a new professional world but also put their professional future and employability at risk. Even though it is more economical and effectual to train current 50+ employees for the new skills prerequisite for digital transformation and distance working than obtaining new employees necessitating more resource and money to train and acquire other skills conditioning their future professional performance, numerous companies prefer to hire young employees, fully equipped in digital competences.<< Objectives >>The project is aimed to give people opportunities to learn at any stage in life and targets both skilled professionals as well as less-experienced workers, including those looking for a professional change and novel job opportunities.Furthermore, the project is aimed to enhance:- digital skills by developing a flexible ICT-based learning environment and by providing specific training on digital skills necessary to improve professional performance as dealt with by the EU DigComp Framework, such as communication and collaboration, safety and problem-solving skills;- entrepreneurial skills, including creativity, critical thinking and problem solving, by taking advantage of the EU EntreComp Framework and providing specific training contents and resources;- skills and competences needed to promote sustainable development and sustainable, inclusive and equal working approaches, so as to meet UN SDGS 4, 5 and 8 (Agenda 2030, 2015), and personal, social and learning to learn competence (EU Council, 2018).<< Implementation >>RAISING AWARNEES OF COMPANIES – Making companies aware of the challenge faced by their aged workforce and encourage them to define potential employees that may be in this situation (using analytics to detect employees’ discrepancies and define or categorize specific digital skills gap). Preparing companies to accompany senior employees to upskilling their digital competencies. MINDSET CHANGE – Encouraging an open attitude of senior employees and their employers who will both benefit from the digital training. MAINTAING THE SENIOR FRIENDLY WORKING ENVIRONMENT - Assuring a friendly environment allowing senior employees to fell comfortably and avoid unnecessary stress related to the need of upskilling. DEVELOPMENT OF THE DIGITAL TRAINING AND ITS PROMOTION - Including consultations with business sectors and intergenerational exchanges. -To address the digital training needs of senior employees including a disadvantaged group of senior employees -To foster seniors’ professional development and inclusion securing their employability-To boost independent distance working and to maintain the physical and mental health of senior employees-To raise the effectiveness of senior employees, companies’ performance and therefore to positively impact the local, national, and European economies-To promote innovation as an indispensable part of the professional development of the senior workforce-To raise awareness of the professional integration and development of the ageing workforce in the post-pandemic labor market and in the society itself, as acquiring new skills reduces the risk of professional exclusion and promotes intergenerational communication (bridging the digital gap between generations)<< Results >>A virtual platform as a comprehensive model dedicated to both the ageing workforce and their employers. It will come out with an assessment tool useful for monitoring results and impacts of the proposed training on both direct target groups and indirect target groups (employers, managers, other workers and staff members), including impacts produced on MSMEs, with recorded encouraging effects on their digital transition.

Building entrepreneurial competence is a key EU policy objective. It is a feature of the Strategic Framework for Education and Training and an element of many recent policy documents including the Green Paper on Entrepreneurship in Europe (EC, 2003), the Small Business Act for Europe (EC, 2008), the Communication on Rethinking Education (EC, 2012), the Entrepreneurship Action Plan 2020 (EC, 2013) and the New Skills Agenda for Europe (EC, 2016). The Council Recommendation on Key Competences (EC, 2018), confirms the importance of “promoting entrepreneurial mindsets” and encourages Member States to think about “nurturing entrepreneurship competence, creativity and the sense of initiative especially among young people”.ForEMLink seeks to address some of these policy imperatives by developing an approach that will offer relevant and practical learning to students in higher and advanced vocational education, increasing their entrepreneurship skills and helping them to start viable businesses.ForEMLink brings together five organisations for whom inspiring entrepreneurial mindsets is a common challenge. Through sharing their knowledge and expertise and working together the five partners will develop three concrete intellectual outputs:•ForEMLink Methodology: this aims to define and describe an approach to co-creation that may be adopted by educators in HEIs to deliver curricula in entrepreneurship (01);•ForEMLink Digital Platform: brings together educators, students and enterprises and provides a matchmaking service, enabling the latter (enterprises) to upload genuine, real-life problems that students will be able to access and attempt to solve as part of their learning (O2);•ForEMLink Handbook: developed using direct inputs from educators and students having made active use of the ForEMLink Digital Platform and/or participated in one of the transnational learning, teaching and training events; this will be an output that serves to support future users of the ForEMLink Methodology and/or Digital Platform as well as acting as an aide-memoire for existing users (O3).All three intellectual outputs will be developed through joint working by the five partner institutions supplemented by appropriate consultation with and inputs from enterprises, students and educators using the two core outputs of the project (methodology; digital platform). Consequently, transnational cooperation is not merely a necessary component of this cooperative approach but also a key feature of the targeted methodology and digital platform.A further tangible output centres on the two learning, teaching and training events, one aimed at educators (C1) and one aimed at students in higher education (C2). These will be attended by participants from all five partner countries and will generate input for the ForEMLink Handbook.Intangible outputs include an increased level of competence and usage of the developed digital resource (digital platform) among educators at the five institutions, increased confidence and competence among students, particularly those aiming to launch their own businesses and increases in the birth rate, and survival rate, of businesses in the five partner regions and countries.Partners identify the following additional innovative dimensions in the ForEMLink project:•LOCATION: the ForEMLink Digital Platform (O2) will support a transnational dimension in problem-based learning across five European countries extending to three distinct user groups: educators, students and enterprises. •PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: the ForEMLink Methodology (O1) and ForEMLink Handbook (O3) will be an asset to educators involved in developing and delivering entrepreneurial education in the five partner countries and beyond; this will be complemented by learning, teaching and training events (C1, C2) providing a space for professional networking and for comparing current approaches.•INSTITUTIONAL APPROACHES: the traditional role of HEIs is being questioned more closely than before by the public at large; the three intellectual outputs of the project and its underpinning rationale - providing real-life learning to enhance the development of students’ entrepreneurial mindsets, engaging with employers on practical problems which confront them and providing professional development for educators of all disciplines for whom the topic is relevant - is a concrete demonstration of how the involved institutions are prepared to embrace the modernisation agenda.